Dustin Alldredge wins division at Northwest Bodybuilding Championship

As anyone who has tried it will tell you, competitive bodybuilding is not an easy sport. With strict and intensive training and dieting routines, serious bodybuilders dedicate several hours each day training for a competition that is merely minutes in the spotlight.

“It was honestly the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said bodybuilder Dustin Alldredge, who recently competed in his first-ever show. “It took a lot of hard work, dedication and discipline … but it was worth it.”

With only a month of training under his belt, Alldredge, a 24-year-old Hood River business owner, won the novice light-heavyweight division of the 2005 Northwest Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships in Tacoma.

A bodybuilding competition typically consists of two parts per division. The first and most important part is a group pose-off, where all the competitors in a division pose and flex on stage at once. That is when competitors are scored and rated by several judges. The second part is more for show, with individuals posing alone on stage to music.

Of the group of tanned, oiled-up musclemen on stage, Alldredge stood out to the judges. “I couldn’t believe it when the called my name,” he said. “It was my first show and I just wanted to place. I couldn’t believe when they announced me as the winner.”

His new first place trophy means Alldredge can no longer enter the novice class at events. The next competition for him, and a few other Hood River residents, is the Emerald Cup in April, which is a big-time west coast competition that opens doors for aspiring professional bodybuilders.

“I’m going for it,” Alldredge said. “I’m going to try to go all the way with this.”

Going all the way will mean continuing his intense six-days-a-week, four-hours-a-day workout routine, as well as a low fat, low carbohydrate, high protein diet.

“I’d like to thank Eddie Dominguez at Big Gym and Golden Pursuit Tanning for their help,” Alldredge concluded.